NCIS Guide
Here is the companion guide to the Magnificent Seven one I did to go along with my fic Montezuma for boxathon.
NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. They are the police and forensic force for the Navy and Marines, just as the JAG office is their court system. NCIS was created by Donald Bellisario who also created JAG, Magnum P.I., and Airwolf to name a few. It is a procedural mystery/drama much like CSI, although with a lot more humor.
I'm going to describe the characters as they appear in the third and fourth season, since that is what primarily is used in my fic. This does not mean I don't love Kate, because I do, but she's not featured in the fic, and to avoid spoilers I'm just going to gloss over it. People new to the series should be aware that there two excellent seasons before the ones I'm describing with many of the same characters and I highly recommend them.
NCIS primarily focuses around Leroy Jethro Gibbs who is the Senior Special Agent in charge of a team of investigators.
Gibbs (don't call him Leroy or sir) is a former Marine Gunnery Sergeant who has a lot of time in at NCIS. He's a tough as nails, no nonsense guy that doesn't mind breaking rules to get cases solved. He is addicted to coffee, hates technology in all it's forms, and needs reading glasses but refuses to acknowledge it. He's a crack shot with field experience both with the agency and with his years as a Marine. Gibbs notoriously has a set of rules that he does work by. Unfortunately for his teammates/students he doesn't reveal them all at once, and rarely ever in order. Basically, you find out about a rule after you've broken it and get the steely eye of doom, or a slap to the back of the head. Gibbs' eyes are another of his weapons. He could win a stare down competition with a statue. Gibbs has had four wives, all red heads. The first wife and his daughter were killed when he was newly with NCIS. The other three wives divorced him, which isn't much of a surprise seeing as how I'm sure he's hard to live with. Despite his harsh exterior, Gibbs has a good heart. He has a soft spot for military widows, and he's great with kids.
Gibbs can't do everything on his own, after all, he enjoys being called boss, so he has a team to help him solve all those cases. First up is his right hand man Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo.
Tony is a goofball, as can be evidenced by that picture. He's a senior investigator who acts like a twelve year old in heat. Tony is a notorious skirt chaser and likes to drone on about his conquests in detail, much to the chagrin of his co-workers. Tony is a huge movie buff and is constantly referencing movies, actors, and lines, often while impersonating the actor that said them. He's a former jock that played basketball for Ohio State. He was originally a police detective before joining NCIS and worked at many different departments before getting the job. He is a goof, but he is also a good investigator with a very good eye and excellent people skills. After all, Gibbs wouldn't suffer any fools on his watch. Although he is very into his Italian roots, Tony apparently didn't have the best of childhoods despite his family's wealth. He doesn't mention his mother much, and the things he says about his father, while flippant, show the bad relationship they had. Tony was neglected as a child and after deciding to become a cop was cut out of his family inheritance.
Gibbs is a father figure for Tony. Of course, the two would never admit that those father/son feelings do exist. Mostly when they're together they have a buddy cop vibe that is quickly squashed when Tony over steps his bounds. Gibbs smacks Tony on the back of the head a lot, and he deserves it every time. It's kind of their version of a hug, really. Tony is also very nosy. He doesn't respect anyone's privacy and often goes through his teammate's things. Recently, Tony has developed an interesting working relationship with NCIS' new director, Jenny Sheppard.
When Gibbs took some time away from the job (he swore he was retiring even if no one believed him) Tony got put in charge of the team and reported directly to Jenny. Tony grew a lot once he had the responsibility. The fact that he started to grow more and more like Gibbs didn't surprise anyone. When Gibbs returned, Jenny offered Tony the chance to head his own team, but Tony refused to leave his boss and stayed on in his old position possibly jeopardizing his career out of loyalty. Oh, and despite Tony's silly attitude he's terrible with children.
After Tony, the next man on the pole is Timothy "Tim" McGee.
Here he is looking confused, which is sort of his natural state around the office. McGee (and he goes by this far more than Tim) is very smart. He has a degree in computer science from MIT. He can make computers do about anything he wants, and occasionally comes into conflict with Gibbs' technophobia. McGee is your typical geek. He is awkward in social situations and loves computer games. He reads Redbook and Ladies Home Journal to understand women. Which is just adorable, if not a little sad. He's excellent with paper trails and evidence that can be processed with a computer, but needs to work on his interrogation technique. Despite his smarts, he is a bad test taker due to nerves, and was concerned about failing a lie detector test that was assigned to all the NCIS staff. In fact, he was so nervous that the lie detector said he was lying when he was giving his name.
McGee was initially Tony's punching bag. The jock in Tony just couldn't help but pick on the geek that is Tim. He's pretty much owned the name McGeek since his introduction on the series. Slowly, Tim has learned to fight back when it comes to Tony and now the pair trade barbs like true siblings. Their relationship is a very sibling rivalry one, both vying for the attention of dad, Gibbs. Gibbs and McGee have a funny relationship. While Tim certainly respects Gibbs and wants to learn from him, he's less in awe of the man than Tony is. Where Tony constantly seeks attention from their boss, McGee sees Gibbs as he really is and surprisingly isn't afraid to question or stand up to him if need be.
McGee likes to write and has become a successful author with the penname Thom E. Gemcity. The books he writes are very closely based on Gibbs and the other members of the team, which they hassle him about quite a bit.
If Tony is the eldest child, and Tim is the middle child, then the new kid on the block is Ziva David.
Ziva is not actually a member of NCIS. She is a Officer with the Israeli Mossad, the intelligence agency for Israel. Her relationship with Director Sheppard allowed her to become a liaison to the team. Ziva is a trained fighter, interrogator, infiltration agent, and over all badass. What she makes up for in brute force she lacks in relationships. Much like McGee, Ziva is socially awkward and is uncomfortable dealing with feelings. She is very direct and says what she thinks, even if she sometimes gets the American sayings wrong. Being with NCIS and dealing with more domestic issues has definitely started to melt her coldness. Ziva does have a mischevious side, and can sometimes be a bit of a mother hen. This is not because she is overly caring, but mostly because she expects things to be a certain way and when they are not she wants to fix them.
Ziva has recently put a lot of trust in Gibbs. She admires his abilities and even asked for his help when she was in trouble. They do share one thing in common, their driving. Both drive like bats out of hell and see road signs and rules as only suggestions. Ziva is worse than Gibbs to the extent that Tony and McGee refuse to let her drive them anywhere.
So the main four are responsible for going out into the field, but they can't do all the investigating alone. They need help. The first person they turn to when a body shows up is Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard the NCIS M.E.
Ducky is a Scottish medical examiner with the tendency to ramble on. He has lived a very interesting life having been many places and seen many things and he wants to tell you them all in detail. Ducky's a bit of an absent minded professor type that constantly digresses and needs to be pulled back on track, usually by Gibbs. The doctor lives at home with his mother, who is quite old and very senile. He knows about every M.E. in the country, and has contacts all over the world. He is considered an immanent pathologist, and recently added a psychological degree to his CV that allows him to do psychological autopsies. He is an old friend of Gibbs and they've worked together for some time. Ducky is usually the only one that Gibbs really confides in and the two are pretty close.
One floor up from the morgue is the team's other helper, Abigail Sciuto.
Don't call her Abigail. Abby is a bubbly goth that is well versed in about every forensic science you can think of. She's exceptionally bright and very good with computers. Abby is a free spirit. She has quite a few tattoos, and enough dog collars to choke a horse. Gibbs and she have a very close relationship. While he treats her like a beloved daughter, Abby sees Gibbs as more than her mentor. He's taken on a mythic quality to her, so much so that she thinks he can read minds. But in all seriousness, Abby and Gibbs despite being polar opposites have a very close relationship that is quite sweet. Abby is a very loving person and she gets along with about everyone. Tony and she share raunchy stories and have a sibling vibe. It took a bit for Ziva and her to warm up to each other, but now they get along once Ziva let down her guard a bit. But the best relationship on the show has to be Abby and McGee. They are extremely cute together.
Originally, they were dating, but when Tim wanted to much from her, Abby broke up with him. They've had a very close friendship ever since, and Abby definitely helped Tim come out of his shell. Both are quite good hackers, but put'em together and there's really no stopping them.
So that's NCIS. Any questions?
NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. They are the police and forensic force for the Navy and Marines, just as the JAG office is their court system. NCIS was created by Donald Bellisario who also created JAG, Magnum P.I., and Airwolf to name a few. It is a procedural mystery/drama much like CSI, although with a lot more humor.
I'm going to describe the characters as they appear in the third and fourth season, since that is what primarily is used in my fic. This does not mean I don't love Kate, because I do, but she's not featured in the fic, and to avoid spoilers I'm just going to gloss over it. People new to the series should be aware that there two excellent seasons before the ones I'm describing with many of the same characters and I highly recommend them.
NCIS primarily focuses around Leroy Jethro Gibbs who is the Senior Special Agent in charge of a team of investigators.
Gibbs (don't call him Leroy or sir) is a former Marine Gunnery Sergeant who has a lot of time in at NCIS. He's a tough as nails, no nonsense guy that doesn't mind breaking rules to get cases solved. He is addicted to coffee, hates technology in all it's forms, and needs reading glasses but refuses to acknowledge it. He's a crack shot with field experience both with the agency and with his years as a Marine. Gibbs notoriously has a set of rules that he does work by. Unfortunately for his teammates/students he doesn't reveal them all at once, and rarely ever in order. Basically, you find out about a rule after you've broken it and get the steely eye of doom, or a slap to the back of the head. Gibbs' eyes are another of his weapons. He could win a stare down competition with a statue. Gibbs has had four wives, all red heads. The first wife and his daughter were killed when he was newly with NCIS. The other three wives divorced him, which isn't much of a surprise seeing as how I'm sure he's hard to live with. Despite his harsh exterior, Gibbs has a good heart. He has a soft spot for military widows, and he's great with kids.
Gibbs can't do everything on his own, after all, he enjoys being called boss, so he has a team to help him solve all those cases. First up is his right hand man Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo.
Tony is a goofball, as can be evidenced by that picture. He's a senior investigator who acts like a twelve year old in heat. Tony is a notorious skirt chaser and likes to drone on about his conquests in detail, much to the chagrin of his co-workers. Tony is a huge movie buff and is constantly referencing movies, actors, and lines, often while impersonating the actor that said them. He's a former jock that played basketball for Ohio State. He was originally a police detective before joining NCIS and worked at many different departments before getting the job. He is a goof, but he is also a good investigator with a very good eye and excellent people skills. After all, Gibbs wouldn't suffer any fools on his watch. Although he is very into his Italian roots, Tony apparently didn't have the best of childhoods despite his family's wealth. He doesn't mention his mother much, and the things he says about his father, while flippant, show the bad relationship they had. Tony was neglected as a child and after deciding to become a cop was cut out of his family inheritance.
Gibbs is a father figure for Tony. Of course, the two would never admit that those father/son feelings do exist. Mostly when they're together they have a buddy cop vibe that is quickly squashed when Tony over steps his bounds. Gibbs smacks Tony on the back of the head a lot, and he deserves it every time. It's kind of their version of a hug, really. Tony is also very nosy. He doesn't respect anyone's privacy and often goes through his teammate's things. Recently, Tony has developed an interesting working relationship with NCIS' new director, Jenny Sheppard.
When Gibbs took some time away from the job (he swore he was retiring even if no one believed him) Tony got put in charge of the team and reported directly to Jenny. Tony grew a lot once he had the responsibility. The fact that he started to grow more and more like Gibbs didn't surprise anyone. When Gibbs returned, Jenny offered Tony the chance to head his own team, but Tony refused to leave his boss and stayed on in his old position possibly jeopardizing his career out of loyalty. Oh, and despite Tony's silly attitude he's terrible with children.
After Tony, the next man on the pole is Timothy "Tim" McGee.
Here he is looking confused, which is sort of his natural state around the office. McGee (and he goes by this far more than Tim) is very smart. He has a degree in computer science from MIT. He can make computers do about anything he wants, and occasionally comes into conflict with Gibbs' technophobia. McGee is your typical geek. He is awkward in social situations and loves computer games. He reads Redbook and Ladies Home Journal to understand women. Which is just adorable, if not a little sad. He's excellent with paper trails and evidence that can be processed with a computer, but needs to work on his interrogation technique. Despite his smarts, he is a bad test taker due to nerves, and was concerned about failing a lie detector test that was assigned to all the NCIS staff. In fact, he was so nervous that the lie detector said he was lying when he was giving his name.
McGee was initially Tony's punching bag. The jock in Tony just couldn't help but pick on the geek that is Tim. He's pretty much owned the name McGeek since his introduction on the series. Slowly, Tim has learned to fight back when it comes to Tony and now the pair trade barbs like true siblings. Their relationship is a very sibling rivalry one, both vying for the attention of dad, Gibbs. Gibbs and McGee have a funny relationship. While Tim certainly respects Gibbs and wants to learn from him, he's less in awe of the man than Tony is. Where Tony constantly seeks attention from their boss, McGee sees Gibbs as he really is and surprisingly isn't afraid to question or stand up to him if need be.
McGee likes to write and has become a successful author with the penname Thom E. Gemcity. The books he writes are very closely based on Gibbs and the other members of the team, which they hassle him about quite a bit.
If Tony is the eldest child, and Tim is the middle child, then the new kid on the block is Ziva David.
Ziva is not actually a member of NCIS. She is a Officer with the Israeli Mossad, the intelligence agency for Israel. Her relationship with Director Sheppard allowed her to become a liaison to the team. Ziva is a trained fighter, interrogator, infiltration agent, and over all badass. What she makes up for in brute force she lacks in relationships. Much like McGee, Ziva is socially awkward and is uncomfortable dealing with feelings. She is very direct and says what she thinks, even if she sometimes gets the American sayings wrong. Being with NCIS and dealing with more domestic issues has definitely started to melt her coldness. Ziva does have a mischevious side, and can sometimes be a bit of a mother hen. This is not because she is overly caring, but mostly because she expects things to be a certain way and when they are not she wants to fix them.
Ziva has recently put a lot of trust in Gibbs. She admires his abilities and even asked for his help when she was in trouble. They do share one thing in common, their driving. Both drive like bats out of hell and see road signs and rules as only suggestions. Ziva is worse than Gibbs to the extent that Tony and McGee refuse to let her drive them anywhere.
So the main four are responsible for going out into the field, but they can't do all the investigating alone. They need help. The first person they turn to when a body shows up is Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard the NCIS M.E.
Ducky is a Scottish medical examiner with the tendency to ramble on. He has lived a very interesting life having been many places and seen many things and he wants to tell you them all in detail. Ducky's a bit of an absent minded professor type that constantly digresses and needs to be pulled back on track, usually by Gibbs. The doctor lives at home with his mother, who is quite old and very senile. He knows about every M.E. in the country, and has contacts all over the world. He is considered an immanent pathologist, and recently added a psychological degree to his CV that allows him to do psychological autopsies. He is an old friend of Gibbs and they've worked together for some time. Ducky is usually the only one that Gibbs really confides in and the two are pretty close.
One floor up from the morgue is the team's other helper, Abigail Sciuto.
Don't call her Abigail. Abby is a bubbly goth that is well versed in about every forensic science you can think of. She's exceptionally bright and very good with computers. Abby is a free spirit. She has quite a few tattoos, and enough dog collars to choke a horse. Gibbs and she have a very close relationship. While he treats her like a beloved daughter, Abby sees Gibbs as more than her mentor. He's taken on a mythic quality to her, so much so that she thinks he can read minds. But in all seriousness, Abby and Gibbs despite being polar opposites have a very close relationship that is quite sweet. Abby is a very loving person and she gets along with about everyone. Tony and she share raunchy stories and have a sibling vibe. It took a bit for Ziva and her to warm up to each other, but now they get along once Ziva let down her guard a bit. But the best relationship on the show has to be Abby and McGee. They are extremely cute together.
Originally, they were dating, but when Tim wanted to much from her, Abby broke up with him. They've had a very close friendship ever since, and Abby definitely helped Tim come out of his shell. Both are quite good hackers, but put'em together and there's really no stopping them.
So that's NCIS. Any questions?